Electrical meters are used to measure energy usage. For example, an electrical meter may be connected to power lines entering a building to measure energy usage in the building. An electrical meter socket mounted on the building is used to connect the electrical meter to the power lines. The electrical meter socket includes a plurality of terminals to which the power lines are connected. The electrical meter socket also has a jaw contact corresponding to each terminal for receiving blade connectors extending from the electric meter.
As an electrical meter socket ages, the jaw contacts may be repeatedly connected and disconnected from the blade connectors of the electrical meter. This eventually causes degraded contact between the jaw contacts and the blade connectors over time, resulting in arcing and heat generation within the electrical meter socket.
Modern advanced metering infrastructure, also referred to as automated metering infrastructure (AMI) meters (smart meters) include temperature sensors which measure the temperature within the electrical meter socket. They generate an alarm if the measured temperature exceeds a temperature threshold. Smart meters are limited to detection of internal meter socket temperatures in excess of a temperature threshold and sending an alarm if an excessive temperature is detected. They are prone, however, to issuing false alarms, resulting in unnecessary service calls. A false alarm can be due to any one or more of a number of reasons, including for example direct sunlight especially during summer months, and lack of ventilation.
It would be advantageous to provide a heat dissipation device for electrical meter sockets, which dissipates heat energy from within the electrical meter socket and thus prevents the internal temperature from exceeding the temperature threshold, and avoids unnecessary service calls to the meter location.